Whirlpool

The Whirlpool name can be found on hand-operated washing machines dating back to the Horton Manufacturing Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1906. The hand-operated technology had to be used next to a source of water, and the machine was soon eclipsed by more convenient machinery. Little was heard of the Whirlpool name for well over a decade. The Whirlpool name once again emerged when the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company acquired it in 1922. In 1929, the Upton Machine Company merged with the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company to become The Nineteen Hundred Corporation.

In 1947, The Nineteen Hundred Corporation focused on the development of an automatic, spinner-type washer for Sears Roebuck & Co. under the Kenmore brand. Noting the popularity of the product, in 1948, to reach new customers, The Nineteen Hundred Corporation created a dual-distribution system, retaining its partnership with Sears while also marketing its own washing machine under the Whirlpool brand name. This institutionalized the use of the Whirlpool brand on appliances and, in 1950, to heighten brand awareness around its successful new offering, the company changed its name to Whirlpool Corporation.

Available to consumers nearly everywhere in the world, Whirlpool, the company’s flagship brand, has an unmatched passion for creating solutions that fit into every consumer’s lifestyle and budget. Leveraging a century of expertise in the appliance industry, the Whirlpool brand continuously provides consumers with innovative, high-performing, resource-efficient products.

In 2010, the Whirlpool brand continued its proud tradition of innovation with product launches in every major category around the world. From a laundry pair with an LCD touch-screen interface in North America to a side-by-side refrigerator with fully-flush handles in Europe to a portable, frost-free refrigerator in Argentina and a three-door refrigerator in China, the Whirlpool brand offers products that address the unique needs of consumers around the world.

For the last century, Whirlpool Corporation has introduced innovations that make the act of doing housework less of a chore. As a global leader in major appliances, the company’s flagship Whirlpool brand demonstrates how our heritage continues to inspire innovation.